Fagan expects returning Lions stars to deliver in crucial Qclash
LIONS coach Chris Fagan has put the onus on his returning stars to perform in Saturday night’s Qclash, suggesting the players dropped from the side that beat the Giants didn’t deserve to be axed.
Brisbane will welcome back skipper Dayne Zorko, defenders Daniel Rich and Marcus Adams, midfielder Jarrod Berry and ruckman Oscar Mcinerney for the Gabba battle with Gold Coast.
And while the quintet are automatic selections in the Lions’ 22, Fagan demanded they deliver to justify his reasons for omitting a group of players including particularly unlucky trio Darcy Fort, Nakia Cockatoo and Jack Payne.
“They’ve got a responsibility to play well,” the Brisbane coach said.
“Some guys last week played particularly well against the Giants and they’ve lost their spots.
“That’s what you need if you want to be a successful team. You’ve got to have people who come in and play roles when others are out,
“That’ll be the expectation of them (against the Suns), to come in and play their roles.”
Also missing from the team that beat the Giants is in-form Keidean Coleman, who has succumbed to a hamstring injury.
“He had some hamstring soreness late in the game last week,” Fagan said.
“There’s a little bit of fluid there on the scan. It’s not much but bad enough for myself and our medical people to say we’re not going to risk him.
“He’s had a great year and it is a pity but that’s footy – there are injured players every week.
“We’ve just got to pick the next bloke and move on.”
The Lions have dominated recent Qclash games, having won their past seven matches against the Suns.
Another Brisbane win on Saturday night would all but end Gold Coast’s chances of playing finals football for the first time.
“They’re at a time in their history
when they’re having their best season ever,” Fagan said of the Suns.
“They need to win (on Saturday night) to try to keep their finals hopes alive and we need to win to make sure we finish in the finals and finish as high as we can, so there’s a lot at stake.
“It’s a different contest altogether to the previous ones. We spend no time sitting around talking about our record against the Gold Coast Suns.
“All that matters is the here and now.”
Fagan said it was important for Australian football in Queensland for the Lions and the Suns to be strong.
The Lions romped to a 52-point win when the sides last met in round 6 but Brisbane defender Harris Andrews expects a much tighter contest this time out.
“If you look at both teams there’s clearly a lot on the line,” Andrews said. “We want to play our best footy because we’ve been patchy the past six or seven weeks.
“There are repercussions in regards to top four but, from our point of view, we just want to get back to playing the type of footy we want to play as a group.
“(The Suns) are in a position now where they need to keep winning, so they’ll be super desperate.”
Jarryd Lyons is one of two former Suns players who will turn out for Brisbane on Saturday night. The other is Callum Ah Chee, Gold Coast’s No. 8 pick in the 2015 national draft who was traded to the Lions in 2019. He will celebrate his 100th AFL game against his former club.